Your questions on creatine answered
What is the best creatine?
In the end, the value for money offered with Myprotein’s impact creatine can’t be ignored. The smooth fine powder dissolves easily and its been third-party tested. If you can look past the utilitarian packaging and smaller scoop, then it’s an excellent budget-friendly option.
If you’re after a creatine with high purity, then opt for Momentous creatine which uses Creapure and is NSF Certified for Sport. For a creatine supplement to take on the go, I’d opt for Thorne’s travel packs. My favourite supplement blend was Ancient and Brave’s true creatine+, and for those who like a flavoured option I’d choose Protein Works’s creatine monohydrate in orange burst.
How did I select the best creatine?
I took the recommended amount of creatine suggested for each product everyday before exercising, as studies show creatine is most effective taken around exercise.
When testing, I took note of the following factors:
- Solubility: Due to its low solubility, creatine is known to be tricky to completely dissolve in water or other beverages. But, nowadays some brands are micronising the powder, which makes it finer and easier to dissolve. During my test I stirred each creatine into a glass of water, paying attention to solubility. Grainy heaps that sat at the bottom of my glass lost marks, while those that whisked into my water well came out on top. For those wanting to improve this factor, try creatine in hot drinks as some studies suggest that the solubility of creatine in water increases with temperature.
- Results: As I’ve been taking the supplement for so long, I’m unlikely to be affected by different products as they pretty much all just contain creatine monohydrate. But like most supplements, consistency is key when it comes to creatine, so any that are more likely to make me take it were rewarded.
- Packaging: While it’s the product inside the packaging that I’m really after, if a creatine looks good in my cupboard that’s a huge plus.
- Third-party testing: Now there’s a mountain of wellness and health food brands out there, it can be hard to cut through the noise and make sure you’re getting safe products that live up to their claims. So I found out what testing has been done on each creatine product to ensure what’s on the label is what’s in the packet, and that it contains no foreign materials such as hard metals and pesticides.
- Value for money: With the core ingredient the exact same for most, the cost is often where decisions are made so I paid attention to the price compared to the quality of the product.
When and how is it best to take creatine?
Dr Jenna Macciochi advises to take at least 3g per day consistently. She doesn’t believe a loading phase, where creatine is taken at a higher dose when first taking it, is necessary.
She recommends to drink it with water, ideally electrolytes, and take it with a carbohydrate-containing meal for optimal uptake. But Dr Macciochi warns to not add creatine to a drink and leave it for several hours – you’ll want to consume it within an hour, otherwise the creatine starts to break down.
If you struggle with discomfort when taking supplements on an empty stomach, consuming creatine with a meal can enhance effectiveness and absorption as well as reduce the likelihood of any gastrointestinal issues.
Is creatine safe?
“Creatine is safe when used as recommended,” said Crionna Tobin, head of science and education at Optimum Nutrition when speaking to IndyBest fitness writer Harry Bullmore.
“It is one of the most thoroughly researched sports supplements in the world. Decades of studies show that healthy adults taking the standard dose of three to five grams per day experience no harmful effects on kidney or liver function.
“Leading organisations such as the International Society of Sports Nutrition and the European Food Safety Authority consider it safe when used within recommended guidelines.”
However, she still recommends choosing trusted brands whose products have been subject to third-party testing.
Should men and women take different amounts of creatine?
Dr Macciochi says: “The evidence-based and EFSA-supported effective daily dose of creatine is 3-5g per day for healthy adults, regardless of gender.
“On average, women store 70–80 % as much creatine in muscle as men, even after adjusting for body mass. Several factors contribute to this including lower muscle mass overall, dietary patterns (often lower meat/fish intake) and hormonal effects, for example oestrogen fluctuations may influence creatine transport and retention.
“This means women begin at a lower baseline, so supplementation can have a more pronounced effect.”
Does creatine offer women specific benefits?
For women, creatine supplements might have unique benefits as oestrogen fluctuations often affect brain bioenergetics, Dr Macciochi explains. As the brain is a high-energy organ and oestrogen is known to enhance glucose utilisation and mitochondrial efficiency, when oestrogen declines during menopause transition, the brain becomes more reliant on alternative energy substrates like ketones and phosphocreatine, she said.
So, “Supplementing with creatine can buffer this energy gap, helping maintain mental clarity, resilience to stress, and mood stability”, Dr Macciochi says.
“By improving muscle strength, energy availability, and training adaptation, creatine helps counter these effects, especially when combined with resistance exercise.”
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
Alice Reynolds is a production journalist and writer at IndyBest. She’s passionate about fitness, particularly running, the gym and Pilates, and has used creatine to help her achieve her goals for almost a year. When it come to reviewing each, she considered each product in real-world testing environment and consulted Dr Jenna Macciochi for expert input. On top of this, she has a key eye for value for money, having covered cost saving appliances from multi-cookers to dehumidifiers for IndyBest.
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